Reflector and fastening therefor



w. v. BERGEN ET AL REFLECTOR AND FASTENING THEREFOR Filed Dec. 1, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 .111 5 mm, I. 3

D 13,1932 w. v. 'BERGEN ET AL 1,891,138

REFLECTOR AND FASTENING THEREFOR- Filed becQl, 1930 4' Sheets-Sheet 2 rig: INVENTOR ATTORN EY Dec. 13, 1932. w,.v BERGEN T 1,891,138

REFLEGTOR AND FASTENING THEREFOR Y Filed Dec. 1, 1930 4 She'ets-Sheet Iz INVENTOR Dec. 13, 1932. w, v, BERGEN ET AL I 1,891,138

REFLECTOR AND msmnme THEREFOR Filed Dec. 1, 1930 4 Sheets-Shet' iq-M a VENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 13, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM V. BERGEN, OF HILLSBORO, A ND ARTHUR C. SHUTE, OF POR'FLAISED, OREGON, ASSIGNORS TO NITERDAY SIGNAL GO., 0F PORTLAND, OREGON, A. CQRPORATION OF OREGON REFLECTOR AND FASTENING THEREFOR Application filed December 1, 1930. Serial No. 499,298..

Our invention is intended for use as a reflecting sign to be placed along the rights-ofway of highways, railways, and in any and all places where it is desirous to indicate by reflected light to approaching traflic of every kind, the existence of the reflected light and the message that the same contains. Heretofore it has been the general custom in reflected lights, to place a relatively large unit at the location to be protected. The large units are not only expensive to make and maintain, but they are also expensive, in the event that the same become broken, or damaged, for any reason.

In preferred embodiment the device is composed of a body element having a lens hermetically sealed within the shell and having a reflector disposed within the shell and spaced apart from the lens suficiently to develop the full reflected rays of the reflector, the lens being placed within an enlarged head of the body element to develop a larger refleeting lens and to form a stop for the shell to bring the lens sufiiciently in surface alignment with the body of the support, into which, one or more, of the units may be placed. An encircling jacket is placed about the outer surface of the rear of the body element formaintaining the assembly in place, relative to the supporting surface. The same may be held in position and placement by frictional engagement which may be further intensified by crimping or otherwise compressing the encircling jacket upon the shell, by any suitable means, through the use of a special crimping device especially provided for that purpose. After the reflector is placed within the body element an annular ring is formed within the body element for maintaining the reflector in precise position and alignment. A shoulder is formed at the enlarged portion, of the outer end of the jacket, upon which a gasket is supported and upon which the lens in placed. The open end 0 the body element is then reamed against the sloping surface of the lens to compress the same upon the gasket and to hermetically seal the bodyelement in order that moisture may not collect upon the reflectingsurface, and

to maintain the device in satisfactory oper ating conditions, over relatively long oper ating periods.

One of the objects of our invention is to provide a reflecting signal, through the use of which indicia may be placed upon a slip porting surface, to indicate by reflecting light, the information to be imparted by the slgn.

A further object of our invention consists in providing relatively small units that may be cheaply made and that may be legible when a plurality of the same are assembled upon a single sign.

A further object of our invention consists in providing a reflecting signal, so made that the reflector is hermetically sealed within the body element to thereby insure its useful longevity.

A further object of our invention consists in providing an assembly that may be maintained in placement by frictional means that is created by a small tool that may be eficiently used by inexperienced applicators.

A still further object of our invention consists in providing a reflector that will develop a maximum reflecting area of the lens.

Still further objects of our invention consist in the production of a reflecting unit having minimum first cost.

With these and incidental objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of constructibn and combination of parts, the essential elements of which are set forth in the appended claims, and a preferred form of embodiment of which is hereinafter shown with reference to the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification.

. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective, end view of the assemblv, the same being of the lens end of the assembly.

Fig. 2 is a sectional, side view of the assembled device.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the assembled device, illustrating the same completely assembled but without the locking jacket being disposed thereupon.

Fig. 4 is a sectional, side view of the body element of the device and illustrating the reflector as being inserted within the body element by a ram, shown in dotted position.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the assembled body element, the reflector and lens, but before the crim has been placed within the body element or maintaining the reflector in precise position therein.

Fig. 6 is a side view, partially in section, of the completed assembly, illustrating the annular groove that is placed within the body element for maintaining the reflector in precise position.

Fig. 7 is a plan view, of a standard highway signal, having the indicia stop formed thereupon through the use of our new and improved reflectors.

Fig. 8 is a side view, partially in section, of one of our new and improved reflectors, in position within the body of the sign and illustrating the jacket disposed thereabout for maintaining the complete assembly in precise position, upon the stop sign.

Fig. 9 is a side view, partially in section, of a modified form of fastening device, the same being comprised of a ring, or band, placeable around the body element.

Fig. 10 is a side viewv of one of our new and improved assemblies disposed upon the sign and illustrating the head partially in section of the tool, for crimping the fastening jacket about the body element.

Fig. 11 is a side view of the reflecting unit, in place within the sign and illustrating the fastening jacket, as being in registerable alignment, for placement about the body of the reflector unit.

Fig. 12 is a side view of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 11, and illustrating the fastening jacket placed about the body element and illustrating the same as having been crlmped for maintaining the same in precise position.

Fig. 13 is an inverted, plan view of the sign as illustrated in Fig. 7.

Fig. 14 is a side view of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of fastening tool -for crimping the fastening jacket about the body element and illustrating the same in place and position. upon the jacket. for securing the same to the body element, of our reflector.

Fig. 16 is a side view of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 15.

Fig. 17 is an end view, partially in section, of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 15 and Fig. 16. p ig.'18 is a top,.plan view, partially in section, of a modified form of crimping head and illustrating the same as being placed about the jacket, but'before the crimping pressure has been applied.

Fig. 19 is a to lan view of the mechanism illustrated in ig. 18 but illustrating the same after the crimping pressure has been applied.

Fig. 20 is a plan view of the complete tool, ifihe head of which is shown in Fig. 18 and Fig. 21 is a side view of one of our new and improved devices in place and position and illustrating a modified form of locking ring, removably disposed thereupon.

Fig. 22 is a side view of one of our new and improved devices shown in place and position and illustrating the loc ing ring illustrated in Fig. 21 in section, to better illustrate the crimp disposed upon the outer peripheral edge, to better illustrate its engagement within the annular ring, disposed within the jacket.

Fig. 23 is a sectional, plan view, of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 21, the same being taken on line 2323 of Fig. 21, looking in the direction indicated.

Fig. 24.- is a perspective, end view of a bracket, adapted for the maintaining of a single reflector unit therein.

Fig. 25 is a side view of a pair of brackets illustrated in Fig. 24. spaced apart to adapt a pair of units within the brackets and for indicating reflected light in opposite directions.

Fig. 26 is a side view of the bracket and reflector unit, disposed therein and of the locking ring, illustrated in Fig. 21 and in Fig. 23.

Fig. 27 is a fragmentary, sectional, side view of a reflector unit, having a modified form of lensdisposed therein.

Like reference characters refer to like parts I throughout the several views.

We preferably form the body of our device of a cylindrical shell having a head 2 formed integral with the body element 1. An annular shoulder 3 is formed upon the inner surface of the body element to produce an enlarged lens receiving head 4, upon the outer end of the body element. A compressible gasket 5 is placed upon the shoulder 3 upon which the lens 6 comes to rest. When the lens is placed within the head thus formed and the base of the lens is resting upon the gasket, the outer end7 of the head of the body element is then crimped, 0r reamed directly upon the lens with suflicient pressure being applied to completely and thoroughly compress'the gasket, and to hermetically seal the inner body 8 of the body element. The lens is formed as having its oppositely disposed faces 9 and 10 being preferably convex and having its greatest diameter substantially upon the media line between the two convex sur aces. While we have shown the lens in the drawings, disposed faces, we do not wish to be limited to a double convex lens, as les satisfactory results may be obtained where one of the element 1 the maximum amount of the lens.

aces of the lens is made flat, or substantially A uniformly sloping side wall 11 is disposed upon the' outer surface and immediately adjacent the media line of greatest diameter, the uniformly sloping surface is primarily intended to adapt itself to the inner surface of the crimped head 7, the same being so formed as to facilitate the compressing of the lens upon the gasket during the reaming of the head. It also reduces the amount of reflecting surface of the lens that will be affected by the direct reflecting rays that emanate from the reflector 12 that is disposed within the'base of the body element. The reflector .12 may be made as having a circular peripheral edge 13 and when so made an annular recess 14 is disposed within the outer surface of the body element to create an annular ring 15 upon the interior of the body element for maintaining the reflector in precise position to thereby develop thefull reflecting area of the reflector and to project the rays so as to illuminate The reflector may be made as illustrated in Fig. 2, and'when so made a relatively sharp edge 16 is formed upon the maximum diameter of the reflector and when crowded home within the body element the sharp edge 16 will intimately contact the inner surface 17 of.

the body element, to thereby prevent the return of the reflector or its dislodgment from placement. When placing the reflector the design, as illustated in Fig. 2, a ram 18 is used in the forcing of the reflector home into the base of the body element to insure its being maintained in precise placement and position. Where a plurality of reflectors are to be placed within a sign, as illustrated in Figs. 7,13 and 14, the. assembled reflecting unit is placed through a hole that is formed within the body 19 or" the sign to be formed,-

the hole being made of a precise measure-v ment to receive the body element 1 therein, so that the outer surface 20 of the shoulder of the body element, will rest directly upon of the body of the sign 19. .One or more depressions 23 are then formed within the looking jacket to maintain the same in prec1se position and alignment. The locking element may be comprised of a band 24 that would engage aboutthe jacket and against the back side of the body of the sign and beheld thereupon by frictional engagement which may be intensified by the forming of prick point 25 therein, 'that would engage within andiupon the exterior of the body element ofthe reflecting device.

After each of the reflectors has been placed within the body element of the sign to form purpose comprised of handle jaw members 28 and 29 having crimping points 30 and 31 that are disposed upon the inner surface of the jaw members. The points being removably disposed within the jaws and in .order to insure accuracy and speed of use, resilient locator prongs 32 and 33 are secured within the jaws and are held in place by locking nuts 34 and 35 that are threadably secured to the points 30 and 31. Parallelly disposed shoulders 36 and 37 are disposed upon the inner surface of the jaws that are adapted to engage the head of the assembly to thereby position the points, precisely at the desired location that the crimp is to be formed within the jacket'and body element to lock the same thereupon.

The reflecting unit may be placed within a bracket holder 38, comprised of one "piece, having a hole 39 disposed-centrally oi the body of the bracket, through which the reflector unit may beplaced. A leg 40 outwardly extends from the body element and holes 41 are disposed through the leg, through which fastening elements 42 may be made to pass for maintaining the bracket inplace and in position.

A locking ring 43 is provided, having a flare 44 disposed upon its one end, to adapt the same for being secured to a supporting plate 45. The oppositely disposed peripheral edge of the ring 43 is crimped, as illustrated'at 46, to adapt the same for engagement into the annular recess, disposed within the body of the jacket of the reflector unit. A locking latch is formed from the ends of the annular ring by forming a point 47,.that is outwardly inclined from one end of the locking ring 43, and a point receiving oflset 48 is formed adjacent the oppositely disposed end of the lockmg ring.

A hand engaging terminal end 49 is formed adjacent the recess 48, to facilitate engagement and disengagement of the recess with the point 47. r Y

It may-be found desirable to mount'a pair of brackets, similar to that illustrated in Fig. 24 upon a common supporting surface 50 and to mount reflector'units within the respective brackets and to lock the same relative there- L to, in order that reflected light may be refiected in oppositely disposed directions, from a pair of units mounted upon a common support.

While the form of mechanism hemigi shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended to confine the invention to the one form of embodiment herein shown and described, as it is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What we claim is: 1. In a device of the class described, in combination with a supporting surface of a reflector unit and means for locking the reflector unit relative to the supporting surface, said locking means being comprised of an annular ring, having a flare outwardly extending from one of its peripheral edges; a crimp disposed upon its oppositely disposed peripheral edge and a locking latch formed from the opposite ends of the locking ring.

2. In a device of the class described, in

combination with a reflector unit and a supporting surface, of a locking ring adapted for engagement and disengagement about the outer surface of the reflector unit, one of the peripheral edges of which is adapted to en'- gage within an annular recess formed in the outer surface of the reflector unit and a looking latch formed from the oppositely disposed ends of the looking ring.

3. In a reflecting device a cup-shaped body element having a head extending outwardly from its open end to thereby form an annular shoulder upon the inner surface of the body element and adjacent the open end thereof, a reflector disposed within the body element adjacent the base thereof, an annular groove formed within the body element immediately adjacent the periphery of the reflector thereby adapted for maintaining the reflector in precise-position therein, a lens compressibly disposed upon the annular shoulder and hermetically sealed relative to the body element, and means for locking the reflecting device relative to a support, said means including a locking latch formed from the. opposite ends of the locking means, and a crimp extending inwardly from the lower end of the locking means, said crimp adapted to fit into the annular groove disposed within the body element.

4. In a reflecting device a cup-shaped body element of uniform diameter having a head extending outwardly from its open end, a reflector disposed adjacent the base of the body element, a lens disposed within the head of the body element, said lens being hermetically sealed relative to the head, means for lock-- ing the reflector within the body element,

means for locking the reflecting device relatwo to a support, said means including a crimped lower end adapted to engage. within the first mentioned means.

WILLIAM V. BERGEN. ARTHUR C. SHUTE. 

